Makes Motel 6 Seem Like a Luxury Resort
Written: May 27 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Location
Cons: Room, Management, Services
The Bottom Line: There are better choices in the area for an extended stay motel. Pay a little more and get a lot more in return.
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| jdornoff's Full Review: Suburban Lodge of Salt Lake Midvale |
Notice:
Although it says Suburban Lodge it is called Intown Suites but is owned by Suburban Lodge Corp.
Background Story:
While looking for an apartment to move into, my wife and I decided to stay at the Intown Suites. We had passed it many times and from the outside looked like an o.k. place to stay at. I made a reservation online, which said $169.99 a week, $18.99 a day (more on that later). We checked in on a Saturday and planned to fly out the 9 days later on Monday.
Check In:
I should have known from the check in process that things where not going to go well during this stay. I think I signed less paperwork when I bought my last car than the paperwork this placed required from you to check in. Not only do they put the first weeks charges on the credit car they also charge you a $20.00 deposit to use the phone. They also give you a long list of rules you have to obey (what a joke), charges for damage to the room, how to use the phone, a paper giving your 24-hour notice on leaving (more on that later), and information on the area.
The Hotel:
The hotel is located on the 151 West 7200 South just off the 7200 South Exit of Interstate 15 (which is exit 301). The hotel is on the south side of the street right behind the Taco Bell.
The hotel is a three-story building that used to be another hotel but its heritage is hard to tell. You actually enter the office from the east side of the building and it is not well marked. In addition to the counter in the office there is also a counter down the hallway that looks like it may have been at one time a bell person’s desk or something. They do offer free Wi-Fi service (that is a big surprise) but the only computer I have that is WI-FI capable is my new desktop and it is just too much to lug around while traveling (grin). The hotel does have a coin laundry, and vending machines on the first floor but don’t even think about such luxuries as a pool or a fitness center. At least there is an elevator for the three-story complex that looks like it has seen better days.
The Room:
Ok, lets go back and remember what this place is called: Intown Suites. Ok I wasn’t expecting the Venetian but there is nothing Suite about the rooms. In fact the room was a standard size motel room. As you entered the room on one side is the bathroom and on the other is a kitchen area with a microwave, sink, cabinets, and a 2-burner cooktop. Then you enter the main part of the room. The wall that continues from the kitchen area has a fridge (looked to be a 12 cubic footer), then a table and chairs. On the opposite wall is the bed and a nightstand with no clock. There was nothing along the wall with the window and along the wall the separated the bathroom there was a table holding the 19” T.V. and an area for luggage including a wire shelf to hang clothes and put something small on top of. There was no rack to hold a suitcase that is standard in most normal hotels. The bed was a full sized but, but beware, I am only 5ּ” and my feet where hanging off the far side of the bed. I would hate to be a 6-footer and try to sleep on the bed.
It is clear that this used to be a regular motel room that they added the kitchen items to. The kitchen is in the area that used to be for luggage. In order to create an area for luggage they took out the tub in the bathroom and put in a shower and then brought in the wall there to create the small luggage area. The bathroom is small with a small sink, toilet, and then the shower, and it had very dated linoleum.
The Good:
Ok, give me a minute and I will come up with something, just a minute, I know there has to be something, well ok here it is. The bed in the motel even though it was small did feel good. It was firm but not hard as a rock. In addition the place does have a nice sized parking lot so finding a place to park is rarely a problem. Also it is very close the 7200 South TRAX light rail station so that access to transit is easy. In addition the 82/85 bus lines directly service it and the 222-bus line is only a half a block away.
The Bad:
If you like extra fees this is the place for you. If you want utensils, dishes, pots, and pans, they will charge you a rental fee of $20.00 per week. This is nowhere on their website and I have never stayed at an extended stay facility that does not give you these items as part of the room (in fact I even checked the Motel 6 website and their Studio 6 extended stay included this items as part of the room). Also, you must give a 24-hour notice that you are leaving, if its anything less than 24 hours they charge you a $45.00 fee.
The Ugly:
Well ugly is what describes the room the best. In the bathroom there was primer on the wall between the toilet and the shower like they had a water leak or something, or has it been this way since they took out the bathtub? At the window there used to be valiance, but instead all that is left of it is the nails that at one time used to hold it on the wall. I will say the single picture on the wall was nice along the otherwise blank spaces. The orangey, reddish looking carpet has seen its better days. The remote control was also a joy as it stopped working on a daily basis and to be played with in order to get it operational.
The Really Ugly:
I know, I know, you didn’t think it could get any worse than I have described but wait there is more. We where graciously giving 2 bath towels, and one wash clothe for the two of us. In addition they even had some character with the holes in all of them. Sorry, no hand towels and no bathmat. That is right when we asked about the bathmat they said they don’t provide them. My wife almost slipped coming out of the shower because of the wet floor, so this did not make me a happy camper. Also they also provide you with one bar of soap. Not one of the larger body bars, but one of the hotel sized facial bars, you know the ones, they smallest bar of soap known to man. When we asked about additional soap (with the bathmat), the answer was also we do not provide it (I kept the note telling me this).
OK, you ask, why pray tell did you stay the whole week when things where this bad? Well, as I said we checked in on Saturday about 6:00PM, by the time we found out how bad it was it was too late. If we would have left on Monday they would have charged us more than we paid the whole week, and since we where watching our budget, we just decided to stick it out.
Fun:
Yes, there was lots of fun at this hotel. You had the daily obstacle course in which you had to dodge the cans and bottles of beer in order to get to your vehicle or walk over to the light rail station. There was also dodge the police and fire when they come to get the guy who over dosed. Then the most fun of all was the midnight jogging. Someone sets off the fire alarm so that everyone can get their exercise as they try to run for their lives. The final fun activity was guessing the smell. Every morning you guessed what the elevator would smell like that morning. Either it smelled of beer, wine coolers, pot, or one day it was the mystery smell.
Pre-Check Out:
Like I said, you are required to give them a 24-hour notice that you are leaving. With all the other issues we had I decided to give them a 72-Hour notice plus pay for our two additional days. So I went down to the office, which was being run by the manager. He informed me it would be $89.00 for the two additional days. I told him that it was supposed to be $18.99 a day for the additional days and he said no. So I went out to my vehicle and retrieved my reservation form which I keep with me at all times for these types of emergencies that rarely happen.
When I went back in the office, the manager said that it was the taxes that were showing. So I showed him my bill, which showed a different amount for taxes. He said then it must be the deposit. What deposit? He then said that the room would be $39.99 which is the lowest rate in the area and that is what I will pay, and I just didn’t know how to read the reservation form. Oh and by the way, I looked on line and could book a room at Extended Stay America for $37.00 a night for those two nights so I went back and changed our check out day to the next day which was Saturday.
Check Out:
After the fun I had the day before I decided that I would wait until 11:00am and check out when someone was there. I had my wife come with me in order to keep things civilized even though I was still fuming. The manager threw the papers I me and said sign those. He then got a little upset when I took the time to see what I was signing. It was the end of the worst motel/hotel experience I had ever had in my life.
Location:
Now that I have thoroughly beaten up this place let me tell you its best feature. It is well located with lots of places to eat and shop in the area. Within walking distance of the place are Taco Bell, Artic Circle, Sportsman Warehouse, El Faroi Mexican Food, Shangrila Chinese Buffet (Very Good-though high priced on weekends), Light House Restaurant (Denny’s Style), Café Silvestre, McDonalds, Denny’s, Walgreen’s, Hooters, Both Phillips 66 and Chevron with Food Marts, Midvale Mining Café, plus Hertz and Enterprise Car Rentals.
Within a short drive or a five minute bus ride on UTA Route 85 is the Family Center at Fort Union which includes Mervyns’s, OfficeMax, Media Play, Smith’s Grocery Store, Radio Shack, Chili’s, Wal-mart, Ross Dress for Less, Bed Bath and Beyond, FedEx Kinko’s, and several smaller stores.
Also within the area is Astro Burger, Jumbo Buffet, Fashion Place Mall, Pizza Amadeus, Holiday Gas With Food mart, Maverick Gas with Food mart, Golden Corral, Kneaders Bakery and Café, Burger King, Arby’s Souper Salad, Rice King, Baja Burrito, Hires Big H, Sonic, Wendy’s, Fazoli’s, Mashta Korean BBQ (there is an i between the h and t but epinions computer does not like it), Hoppers Grill and Brewery, Laser Quest, Lone Star Steakhouse, Tony Roma’s, Bucca De Peppa, Marie Calendars and Beto’s Mexican Food.
Conclusion:
If you are shopping for a extended stay and price is the driving factor, just a couple of miles from this place is the Studio 6 Suites. For $40.00 more per week ($20.00 counting the cooking equipment fee) you will have a nicer place to stay with better standards. The only downside of the Studio 6 is nothing is within walking distance.
If price isn't the number one factor, there is Extended Stay America and Homewood Suites by Hilton near the Family Center at Fort Union
Post Script:
I figured I would try to contact the corporate offices about my experience. We called the other Intown Suites location and were told that they are not allowed to give out that information. So I thought I would be smart, go on their website, find the contact us section and send them an email. Well, that failed too because in the contact us section they as you for which motel (no section for corporate) then the email goes to that location.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jdornoff
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 in Hotels & Travel |
 in Hotels & Travel |
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Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Reviews written: 106
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
Retail Business Consultant
Freelance Photographer and Writer
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